Page 42 of Fierce Hope (Hope Landing: New Recruits #3)

Elegant classical music flowed from the live orchestra as laughter and conversation filled the ballroom.

Deke stood along the edge, blending seamlessly with the glamorous crowd in his formal tux, posture deceptively relaxed while his eyes remained sharp and observant.

He scanned the room, tracking potential security concerns with practiced ease.

Behind him, a waiter in crisp white gloves offered champagne. Deke declined with a polite smile, maintaining his cover as just another wealthy guest while mentally noting the exits, security personnel, and the movements of their high-profile client across the room.

His phone vibrated subtly in his pocket. A text from an unknown number:

Magic practice tonight. Need glitter ASAP.

Deke’s stomach tightened violently. The code—“magic” and “glitter”—was DJ’s emergency signal, one they’d established weeks ago. But the number wasn’t DJ’s.

And not Jade’s either.

Cold certainty washed over him. Something was wrong. DJ wouldn’t use that phrase lightly—especially from an unknown phone. The teenager might be sullen and surly, but the kid wasn’t a troublemaker. Nor was he cruel. The boy understood the gravity of false alarms.

The one thing he knew for certain was he couldn’t risk calling the number back. No way DJ would have sent his message in such cryptic form if open communication would have worked.

Immediately activating his comm, Deke murmured urgently, “Team, we have a problem. Priority one. It’s DJ.”

Zara’s tense voice crackled instantly in his earpiece from the control room: “We’ve got you. What’s happening?”

“Just got a coded distress text from DJ—but not from his own phone. Zara, run this number.” He read off the digits while struggling to maintain his outward composure.

Ronan’s voice interjected calmly, immediately professional: “ Griff, Axel, Kenji—you handle things here. Rest of you rendezvous in control. Now.”

Deke moved through the ballroom with measured strides, fighting the urge to run. He slipped through a service door, then broke into a sprint down the empty hallway, loosening his bow tie as he went.

His mind raced through possibilities, each worse than the last. DJ wouldn’t have sent that message unless he was in imminent danger. And if he was using someone else’s phone ...

He burst into the small, dimly lit security control room where Zara was already bent over her laptop, fingers flying across the keyboard. Monitors showed surveillance feeds from the gala, now ignored as she focused on tracing the mystery number.

“Got it,” Zara announced swiftly, tension sharpening her voice. “The phone is registered to a Sarah Tannenger. Wait. She’s that young gal from church, right? The one who runs the afterschool program for the littles?”

Deke stiffened, pulse spiking sharply. Sarah? Why would DJ be using Sarah’s phone? The implications sent a chill through him.

“Ping Jade’s and DJ’s phones. Now.”

Zara instantly complied. The screen displayed both phones stationary at Jade’s condo. Deke’s jaw tightened painfully.

“That’s not right,” he said, the words clipped. “DJ sent that text less than ten minutes ago. They’re not at the condo.”

He lifted a silent prayer of thanks to his Lord for having the foresight to slip that tracker onto Jade’s vehicle last week. “Track Jade’s vehicle,” he ordered, voice low and strained.

Zara nodded, anxiety clear as she pulled up the signal. “It’s moving—heading into the mountains north of Hope Landing.” She zoomed in on the map. “No. Wait. Just stopped at what looks like an old logging area. Sarah’s phone is at the same coordinates.”

Cold dread settled heavily in Deke’s gut. Jade would never willingly leave her phone behind, nor willingly drive to an isolated location late at night. Not with his son. No way.

“Pull up security footage from Jade’s place,” Ronan directed, stepping into the control room with Izzy close behind.

Zara quickly accessed the feed, rewinding to earlier that evening.

Grainy nighttime images showed a female figure—clearly Sarah—arriving alone.

Jade waved her inside. Less than fifteen minutes later, the door opened again, Jade and DJ exiting first, backpacks in hand.

They looked tense, shoulders rigid. Sarah followed close behind.

Deke felt a fierce jolt of protectiveness flare within him.

“Where would they be going so late at night?” Izzy murmured uneasily. “It’s a school night. Jade wouldn’t take DJ out.”

Zara magnified the footage further. Deke’s blood turned icy when the image cleared. Sarah clutching a handgun at her side, partially hidden by her coat but unmistakable to trained eyes.

“Glock 19,” Zara confirmed softly, performing a quick database check. “Kent Wycoff had one registered to him. Why does Sarah have it?”

“That can’t be good,” Deke growled, already in motion toward the door.

“My guess is she’s been involved all along,” Ronan said, his voice grim. “We just didn’t see it.”

Deke’s mind raced with horrifying clarity. If Sarah was part of the criminal network they’d been investigating, if she’d been helping Wycoff— she’d be running. But why force Jade and DJ to come along?

“She’s gonna frame Jade,” Izzy announced. “I bet the money they found in Wycoff’s vehicle was just a small part of the loot. She’s running, and she’s leaving Jade to take the fall.”

And his son. Deke looked around for something to break, but he fought the urge.

He had to keep it together. And keep his hands in one piece.

Until he caught up with Sarah Tannenger.

“We’re going airborne. Izzy, Ronan, Maya, Zara—you’re with me.

Kenji, Axel, Griff can finish this detail and coordinate support remotely. ”

Ronan nodded briskly. “Jack’s team is halfway over the Pacific right now. They won’t make it back in time to help. But Christian’s manning the store. I’ll alert him to get over to Jade’s place immediately. He’ll relay intel directly.”

Fragments of impossible, idiotic plans raced through Deke’s head.

He clenched his teeth. Willing his mind to still.

Decompensating wouldn’t save Jade and DJ.

He breathed. In. Out. In. “Belay that. Send Christian the coordinates from Jade’s vehicle.

Tell him to bring all the armament his SUV will carry. ”

“Yup.” Ronan picked up his phone again. “Much better plan.”

As they swiftly moved toward the rooftop helipad, Ronan glanced sidelong at Deke. “Jade is smart,” he assured quietly, compassion in his voice. “She’ll know how to handle herself until we get there.”

Deke exhaled harshly, chest tight. Ronan was right. Jade was brilliant, resilient. She’d use every bit of her con-artist skillset and ingenuity to protect his son.

But she was only human. A civilian up against a ruthless enemy with a gun and nothing to lose. Fear knotted sharply inside him.

The five of them moved swiftly, trading formal wear for tactical gear as they ascended to the helipad. Ronan ran ahead and jumped into the pilot’s seat.

Deke checked his weapon, the familiar weight offering little comfort. “How long to reach them?”

“Thirty minutes, maybe less if we push it,” Ronan replied over his shoulder. “Weather’s not ideal, but we’ll manage.”

Half an hour. Way too much time.

Rotors churned to life as Deke strapped himself into the helicopter seat, the noise drowning out his chaotic thoughts. Beside him, Izzy and Zara exchanged worried glances, while Maya checked their weapons one last time, tactical gear locked and ready.

As the helicopter lifted swiftly into the night, Deke’s heart raced fiercely, desperation clawing his throat. He could barely breathe beneath the suffocating weight of dread and guilt.

He should have seen this coming. Should have recognized Sarah as a threat. The signs had been there—her proximity to Kent, her convenient alibis, her too-perfect demeanor. He’d been so focused on protecting Jade from external threats that he’d missed the one hiding in plain sight.

And now Jade and DJ were paying the price for his failure.

The memory of Jade’s smile flashed in his mind—the real one, not the polished version she showed the world. The way her eyes softened when she looked at DJ. The quiet strength that had drawn Deke to her from the beginning.

He stared into the darkness ahead, visualizing Jade and DJ, their vulnerability starkly clear. The powerful ache within him was nearly unbearable.

Please, Lord, get me there in time to save my son. Give me one more chance to tell Jade what she means to me.

Izzy passed him a tactical vest and night vision goggles. “We’ll find them. DJ was clever enough to get that message out. They’re fighters, both of them.”

Deke nodded, unable to speak past the tightness in his throat. He checked his weapon again, the mechanical movements grounding him. Losing himself to panic wouldn’t help Jade or DJ. They needed him calm, focused, ready.

Below them, the city lights gave way to darkness as they flew over the mountain range. Somewhere in that vast wilderness, Jade and DJ faced a killer. Alone.

The helicopter raced onward through the black, snow-filled sky. He kept his gaze locked forward, mentally urging the aircraft faster, his entire body rigid with tension, every nerve on fire.

The haunting image of Jade’s frightened eyes and DJ’s desperate message replayed in his mind relentlessly. He forced away the agonizing thought of arriving too late, focusing solely on the fierce determination fueling him now.

Hold on, Jade. Hold on, DJ. I’m coming.